(Smart) Citizens from Data Providers to Decision-Makers? The Case Study of Barcelona

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) taking effect in the European Union (EU), a debate emerged about the role of citizens and their relationship with data. European city authorities claim that (smart) citizens are as important to a successful smart city program as data and technology are, and that those citizens must be convinced of the benefits and security of such initiatives. This paper examines how the city of Barcelona is marking a transition from the conventional, hegemonic smart city approach to a new paradigm—the experimental city. Through (i) a literature review, (ii) carrying out twenty in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, and (iii) actively participating in three symposiums in Barcelona from September 2017 to March 2018, this paper elucidates how (smart) citizens are increasingly considered decision-makers rather than data providers. This paper considers (i) the implications of the technopolitics of data ownership and, as a result, (ii) the ongoing implementation of the Digital Plan 2017–2020, its three experimental strategies, and the related seven strategic initiatives. This paper concludes that, from the policy perspective, smartness may not be appealing in Barcelona, although the experimental approach has yet to be entirely established as a paradigm.

Big Data and Their Social Impact: Preliminary Study

“…Humans, from this point of view, realize a critical mental shift in their behavior. From data providers they are requested to perform a decision maker role, within the boundaries and across hi-tech socio-technical structures like smart cities [7].…”

“…However, this topic goes beyond the scope of our research articulated in this research study. Smart cities research is another example of critical integration for social sciences and computer sciences research [6][7][8]. In all these cases several research questions link big data research to critical social impact [11][12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…The availability of big data ecosystems offers numerous options for sophisticated services [6][7][8]. With the evolution of artificial intelligence e.g., machine learning approaches, we can have systems that are trained by the availability of big data.…”

Are Smart-City Projects Citizen-Centered?

“…In the cases in which such participation occurs, all managers justify the processes set in motion, which on the other hand, are limited in the subsequent phase to the design of the technological solution that will solve their problems and never co-creating, thinking together or creating from the beginning of the idea to its final implementation. According to (Calzada 2018) "the citizens of the intelligent city act within the limitations of predictable and acceptable patterns ( . .…”

Can we negotiate? Trust and the rule of law in the smart city paradigm

“…In addition, participation is focused on how datafication allows citizens to interact with their environment differently, offering them more information, more control and more comfort. Citizens can either use this data completely freely through open data initiatives made by citizens (for examples of grassroots uses of open data, see Calzada 2018) or through a variety of platforms and applications that are developed for citizens to interact in and with the city. For instance, in the US, Pittsburgh's 'Burgh's Eye View' offers a responsive city map that displays datasets such as code violations, arrests and police charges.…”